Dining tips for Tuesday, Aug. 20; Tuesdays with Gertie

Upscale burger joints are now serving adventurous, exciting and sometimes outrageous burgers, made with everything from lamb to kangaroo. The meat isn't the only upgrade. The toppings and breads -- once only lettuce, tomato and mayo on a sesame seed bun -- now include brie, caviar aioli and Meyer lemon honey mustard on toasted brioche. Given the ingredients, it's easy to think the new breed of burger spots are pretentious. Not so. Whether it's the name brand Bobby's Burger Palace (the brainchild of chef Bobby Flay) or the boutique BGR Joint, these places are mostly fast casual. The emphasis is on the burger, not the setting. We tried 10 specialty burgers, from places which use fresh ground ingredients, cooked to order. While some rose above the rest, they were all tasty alternatives to the plain old hamburgers of yesteryear. --John Houser III Sun freelance writer John Lindner contributed to this article. Also see: • Baltimore burgers • Places to get burgers in Baltimore • Baltimore food porn • Your pictures: What have you eaten lately?

Richard GorelickThe Baltimore Sun

Restaurants want people in their seats on weeknights. That's why seasoned diners know to keep their eyes out for dining specials on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

One of Baltimore's longest-running early-week specials is Tuesdays with Gertie, when "Gertrude's Restaurant becomes 'Gertie's Cafe'."

From 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. every Tuesday, Gertrude's, the restaurant at the Baltimore Museum of Art, offers a list of entrees from its regular menu, all priced at $12, which is anywhere from $3 to $8 less than the regular menu prices. Diners can add a salad or soup for $5. There's a nice list of $20 wines available, too.

There really isn't a catch, but the printed menu does remind diners, nicely, not to be table-hogging cheapskates. The tip should be based on what the regular menu prices are, not the Tuesday-night price. And, there are no substitutions.

General admission to the event is $25 and includes appetizers, wine tastings and drink specials. A $45 ticket gains a seat on the audience judges panel. For more information go to the tournament website. Proceeds from ticket sales benefit Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland.